MAIDUGURI, Nigeria (AP) — Hundreds of hostages, mostly children and women, who were held captive for months or years by Boko Haram extremists in northeastern Nigeria have been rescued from a forest enclave and handed over to authorities, the army said.
The 350 hostages had been held in the Sambisa Forest, a hideout for the extremist group which launched an insurgency in 2009, Maj. Gen. Ken Chigbu, a senior Nigerian army officer, said late Monday while presenting them to authorities in Borno, where the forest is.
The 209 children, 135 women and six men appeared exhausted in their worn-out clothes. Some of the girls had babies believed to have been born from forced marriages, as is often the case with female victims who are either raped or forced to marry the militants while in captivity.
One of the hostages had seven children and spoke of how she and others couldn’t escape because of their children.
Warner holds out IPL hot shot Fraser
Crochet strikes out 11 to help the White Sox beat the Guardians 6
Elon Musk reveals bizarre way he gets to sleep at night
Georgia QB Jaden Rashada sues Florida coach, others over failed $14M NIL deal
Framber Valdez pitches 7 strong innings and Astros use a late 4
Is this the best value safari in Africa? This fly
Spain withdraws its ambassador to Argentina over comments made by President Milei
Will Power and Josef Newgarden begin Indy quests by adapting to new strategists and engineers
Election 2024: Biden and the Democrats raised far less in April than Trump and the GOP
Virginia budget leaders reach compromise with governor on state spending plan